Daddy's Little Girl
by pumpkinpiespice
Summary: One-shot. AU. Future fic. Zola is getting married, and she is bringing her fiance to dinner with her parents for the first time. What would Derek and Meredith thinks of their soon-to-be son in law?
A/N: This is an alternate universe, where Derek didn't died and the kids are all grown up now. Very slight hint of other couples but mostly focused on MerDer. Or in fact it is mostly focused on the relationship between Derek and his daughter's fiance. Please review and tell me how you think of this story!

* * *

"Can you at least try to look happy?" Meredith put a bowl of salad in the middle of the table while rolling her eyes at her husband.

"I can't. A man coming from nowhere is coming to dinner with us tonight. That's not too bad, we used to have strays joining us for dinner unexpectedly for many years already. What's bad is that this man is my daughter's fiancé! But I don't even know him!" Derek said angrily. Meredith patted his shoulder and said, "Zola is a grown girl now. That guy couldn't be so bad if our daughter wants to marry him."

"Still, they only know each other for, like, three days!" He poured a glass of wine down his throat, trying to put out the burning rage in his chest.

"Mom, Dad, why Bailey and I couldn't have dinner with Zola and her boyfriend tonight? I wanted to meet him too! And I hate being baby sitter for Aunt Amy and Uncle Owen. I am already 18!" Ellis screamed as she ran down the stairs, followed by Bailey who doesn't seem pleased with their plan tonight as well.

"Sweetie, Aunt Amy need you two! The twins need someone to look after them, and Aunt Amy only trust you and Bailey! You can have lots of chances to meet Zola's fiancé in the future." Meredith stroked her daughter's hair and elbowed Derek, hinting him to say something useful.

"Um, how about we let you two stay in the hospital and watch every surgery you want tomorrow?"

"A week."

"Alright, fine. A week. Remember to grab some dinner for the four of you on the way." He gave his children some money and waved to them as they left.

"They are really insatiable right?" Derek shook his head and sigh.

"Well, that's what sending them to stay with Cristina every summer does!" Meredith chuckled and continue stirring the pot of soup.

Just at the moment Meredith finished with the cooking, the doorbell rang.

"Be nice!" Meredith whispered to her husband and kissed his cheek before she opened the door. Zola was laughing at something her fiancé said outside the door.

"Good evening! You must be Steven right?"

"Actually, it's Steve." The tall, smart-looking man shook Meredith's hand politely.

"I am terrible in remembering names. Please come in, Steve."

"It's a very nice house, Mrs Shepherd."

"Thank you. Let me introduce, this is my husband, Derek."

"It's a pleasure to see you, Dr Shepherd."

Derek shook Steve's hand with a fake smile. Meredith stared her husband with a warning glare. He cleared his throat and tried to make his smile a little bit more sincere, and said, "Well, let's get to know more about you as we have dinner, Steve."

The four of them sat down awkwardly – in fact, only Derek is feeling awkward. Meredith liked this man since he walk through their door. She has a thing,which Alex called "mother instinct", that can know immediately whether the person she met is a good guy or not.

"So, Steve. Why don't you tell us how you met Zola?" Meredith divided the roast chicken onto four plates. Running out of ideas, she had to ask the most cliché question to break the ice.

"Well, Zola and I were classmates at Harvard med. But we didn't get to know each other until we both joined the volunteer programme to Africa." He smiled at Zola as he speaks. "She is excellent with the kids, with Zola around our tent is always filled with laughter."

"So, now you are both interns?" Meredith asked as she refilled the glasses with wine.

"Yes, we applied our internship at Grey-Sloan. We will start working in June. Isn't that great? We can all be together!" Zola said excitingly.

"It is. We will be so excited to have you two here." Mer grinned and pushed Derek, telling him to say something.

"According to my memories, interns named Steve are usually the worst in their class. Oh, no offence." Derek sipped his wine and announced. The room froze immediately, no one knows what to say.

"Derek." Meredith cleared her throat to make a warning for Derek.

"It's fine. I am not really the top student of my class anyway. But I will be thrilled to be able to study under you Dr Shepherd. I am quite interested in Neurosurgery." Steve doesn't seemed to be offended by Derek. He smiled at Zola to calm her down and replied calmly.

"Mm. Sounds like you are marrying my daughter in order to gain learning opportunities for yourself."

"Dad! That's rude!" Zola put down her fork and said irritatingly.

"Um… I am going to check on the desserts. Zo, can you come and help me?" Meredith stood up and asked her daughter. Zola nodded and followed her mother, as well as glaring angrily at her weird-acting father.

* * *

"Ugh! I can't stand that anymore! What's happening with dad! I thought he would be happy for me to find the right person in my life! Like what he did with you! And he is the one constantly urging me to meet some boys! He is so mean! Steve is being so nice and tolerating him. Why can't he just be nice for a second as well?" Zola's tears flow down her cheeks as she speaks. She couldn't understand why her daddy, the warm and polite Dr McDreamy turned into Dr Jackass all of a sudden.

"Sweetie… Your father is mean, and I am sorry for that. But he is just… He loves you so much, you are his little girl. It is too sudden. You are marrying a man you only dated for three months. He is worry about you. He worried that you are in danger, and Steve is a bad guy. Look… Your daddy had another marriage with Aunt Addie before he fell in love with me. He married Aunt Addie after a few months of dating, thinks that she is the love of his life. And it turns out… Well you know the story after that. What I mean is, he is scared, for you to make the same mistakes he made." Meredith handed her daughter some tissue and hugged Zola in her arms. She felt sorry for her daughter, but she understands Derek's concerns. No parents would want their kids to experience the same mistakes they did when they were young.

"I thought Dad hates Steve."

"No! Of course not! Well, he might be now. But as soon as he gets to know Steve, he will accept him. I have known you dad for, nearly 30 years already. I know him better than himself. Trust me on this."

"Alright. Let go back to the table." Meredith stopped her daughter from leaving the kitchen. She smirked and said, "No. Give them a minute. Let them know each other a little better first. Many years ago, my step-mother also spent some time with me privately on the most awkward dinner I've ever been to. And those few minutes gave me a chance to know and to like her. I am sure they need those minutes right now. Oh, do you want to try this chocolate soufflé? I got the recipe from Cristina last month. Don't know why I dare to trust Cristina Yang when it comes to dessert, but she says the recipe is from your Uncle Preston's collection. So I guess it is edible. Try it!"

Meredith took out one soufflé and handed Zola a small spoon, enjoying a mother-daughter bonding time as they give the men some space.

* * *

Derek sipped his wine silently at the porch, staring at the starry sky. Steve walked to his side quietly, refilled Derek's glass and began to talk.

"I always wonder, would the stars look the same in different parts of the world? I know the Earth is round, and the stars on the sky are universal, but will people around the world looks at it and feel the same thing?"

Derek turns his glaze from the sky to the young man standing beside him. He is not sure what this guy wanted to say.

"And lately, I figured out an answer. The stars feel different. When I was in Africa, the sky is clearer, and there is like a million stars. It is so beautiful, but it feels lonely. Until I met Zola there. When I look at the sky with her, it feels different. Like… everything is completed. It feels like home." Steve smiled at Derek, and he look up to the sky again.

"Dr Shepherd, I know you love Dr Grey a lot. Zola told me a lot of things about you two. So I guess you know what true love feels like. My mother used to say it is very special. Like the world doesn't matter anymore when you are with her. Like she is the only thing you will ever need in life. Like the life before meeting her is not life at all."

Derek lowered his head, smiled slightly as he recalls the memories between him and Meredith.

"I understand that you may think we are rushing things, and we haven't think carefully before we decided to get married. But I wanted to tell you that nothing matters anymore. Because I believe Zola is the love of my life. I don't want anyone else but her. I am just an intern, no, I haven't even started internship, so I can't promise you that I can give Zola a luxurious life and a hopeful future yet. But I can promise you that you will never regret handing your daughter to me."

"You know, you don't really need my permission to marry my daughter, legally speaking. You don't need to waste your time trying to kiss my ass." Derek asked Steve with his signature McDreamy smile.

"No Dr Shepherd, I am not doing this for myself. I am doing this for Zola. I know her family means a lot to her. If we got married without having your approval, she will always be regretful. I don't want her to be regretful for her entire life, so I wanted you to agree on our marriage."

"What if I don't?"

"Well… Since we are going to be interns in Grey-Sloan, I will be spending 90% of my time with you. I am sure you will approve of me, at some point."

Derek laughed loudly, and poured his soon-to-be son in law a glass of wine. "Turns out I really like you, Steve. Seems like you are not that bad a guy. Don't make my little girl sad, alright?"

"Never." Steve grinned at Derek and drank the whole glass of wine immediately.

"Dad! Steve! Desserts are ready!" Zola yelled at them from the kitchen. The two men walks into the house happily and sat down.

"Whoa, looks like you two are getting along quite well now." Meredith raised her brow and asked, even she already know the answer.

"Yes, we are." Derek smiled at Steve and his daughter.

"What did you two discussed?" Zola asked curiously. The two men just laughed and said in union, "Its men's talk."


End file.
